Chapter 964: The Emperor's Trap

At the Berlin General Staff Headquarters, Hindenburg and Ludendorff were busy with their staff.

Since Charles had taken Saarbrücken, all hell had broken loose.

Romania retreated, Italy withdrew its troops, and the Hindenburg Line was forced to retreat in the battle, otherwise Charles' mechanized forces could defeat them from the rear with just a turn.

"We must remove it!" Hindenburg shouted at Saarbrücken on the map: "It is like a cancer. Sooner or later it will poison us and kill us."

Charles had few troops deployed in Saarbrücken, only one armored division and one mechanized division. The two motorized divisions had been withdrawn to protect the supply lines.

But it was precisely these two divisions that made Hindenburg extremely wary.

Because he was not sure from which direction Charles would attack:

Going south, we can go behind the defense line and surround a large area east of the Rhine.

To the east, it penetrated into Italy's rear and even cut off the connection between Germany and Austria-Hungary.

To the north is the Ruhr, Germany's industrial center and the heart of Germany.

As a result, Hindenburg had to defend in every direction but failed to defend anywhere, even though Charles' troops stayed in Saarbrücken and did not advance a single step.

"Calm down, Marshal," Ludendorff advised:

"Although we should take Saarbrücken back from a military perspective, it is not politically possible."

"Think about Ciel's attitude."

"He has always wanted a 'truce' with Germany. If we take the initiative to attack, it will definitely anger the French army!"

Hindenburg nodded helplessly.

This is exactly the embarrassment of the German army:

The elite Charles troops were stationed in Saarbrücken.

Not to mention whether they can win the battle, even if they can, they will inevitably suffer heavy casualties, and then they will not have the strength to face the British and American coalition forces.

The best option is to not provoke Charles and continue this fake state of peace.

However, it was like a sword hanging over his head, which could take his life with just a casual swing of the hand, which made Hindenburg feel extremely uncomfortable.

Just as Hindenburg was getting uneasy, a guard stood at attention outside the door and said, "Your Majesty!"

Hindenburg looked up in confusion, just in time to see William II striding in. His voice seemed different from before, full of confidence: "Is everything all right, Marshal?"

"Yes, of course." Hindenburg stepped forward and saluted: "Everything is fine, Your Majesty."

William II sat down on the sofa, glanced around, and asked meaningfully, "Really?"

He smiled without saying anything, looking at Hindenburg with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes.

Hindenburg immediately realized that the emperor was coming with ill intentions and might be trying to seize command, or partial command.

But Hindenburg didn't take it seriously.

Just him?

If he could bring Falkenham with him, he might have a chance of winning.

"Do you have any instructions, Your Majesty?" Hindenburg pretended to be respectful, but in fact he was ordering him to leave: If you have nothing to do, leave; you are not needed here.

William II was unimpressed:

"It's like this. The navy won a great victory last night. I hope to share the victory with the marshal."

"after all……"

William II kept smiling and spread his hands around.

Although he didn't say anything, Hindenburg understood that this meant that Hindenburg really needed news of victory.

"Oh, really?" Hindenburg said calmly, "Very good news. But I want to know, what kind of victory is worthy of your Majesty's personal visit?"

What kind of victory could the navy win? Hindenburg thought, maybe just destroy a few torpedo boats, and then show off!

William II raised his eyebrows, crossed his legs and said in a relaxed tone:

“It can’t be called a great victory.”

"We just succeeded in the surprise attack and sank three cruisers and five destroyers that the British were escorting for the merchant convoy."

"Of course, we also suffered some losses, and the Bayern suffered some minor damage."

(The picture above shows Germany's most advanced battleship during World War I, the Bavaria class, which was officially commissioned in March 1917)

Hindenburg was stunned, and Ludendorff and other staff officers also turned their eyes to William II, who instantly became the focus of everyone.

Hindenburg still couldn't believe it: "You... no, I mean the navy, did you really win such a victory? Why did our newspapers..."

"Because we just released the news." William II leaned back with a smug look on his face. "I think it won't be long before it comes out."

Then he seemed to remember something: "Oh, right. We also brought back seven merchant ships full of supplies."

Hindenburg's eyes widened instantly: "Seven merchant ships, how can that be..."

Hindenburg had no idea of ​​the capacity of merchant ships and could not guess the number.

William II added: "The preliminary estimate is 30,000 tons of supplies, and it is possible that there are more, because each of them is packed with cargo."

Hindenburg's heart slowed down for a moment. 30,000 tons of supplies were a life-saving straw at a time when citizens across the country were tightening their belts to fight the enemy.

Others could not help but exclaim, and then cheered and applauded William II:

"Well done, Your Majesty!"

"You solved our urgent need."

"Thank you, we finally heard some exciting good news."

…

William II stood up and nodded to them:

"Don't thank me, soldiers. This is what a German emperor should do."

"I should be the one to thank you. It is your persistence and hard work that have defended Germany, and Germany has been able to hold on until now."

"I think it's time to come together, I mean the Navy and the Army."

"As long as we unite to face the enemy, we will definitely be able to defeat the enemy, even if the enemy is Ciel!"

Applause broke out again in the command center.

Wilhelm II turned his eyes to Hindenburg and asked: "Is that what you said, Marshal?"

Hindenburg understood what William II meant.

In fact, there is no coordination or unity between the navy and the army. They are on two different battlefields.

What William II meant by "unity" was nothing more than a request to participate in the command of the army.

Hindenburg did not want to agree, as this would mean decentralization.

But he had to agree, otherwise, the captured materials might not be distributed to the army but used to reward the navy or aid the citizens first.

After hesitating for a moment, Hindenburg nodded helplessly: "Of course, Your Majesty, it should be so."

"Very good." William II showed a satisfied smile on his face: "Then let's take a look at the Hindenburg Line."

He walked quickly to the map and pointed his finger at the defense line: "I suddenly have an idea, Marshal. What do you think, if we launch a counterattack against the enemy, will it be beyond the enemy's expectations?"

"No, Your Majesty," Hindenburg replied hastily, "We are short of ammunition. A counterattack at this time would be a disaster!"

Hindenburg had no idea that this was a trap set for him by a coalition of Britain, the United States and the Emperor.

(End of this chapter)